Project
Team ········· Yotam Ben Hur
OMA/AMO
Type ········· Exhibition
Year ······ 2025
Status ······· Built
OMA/AMO
Type ········· Exhibition
Year ······ 2025
Status ······· Built
From the Coastline, We Progress®
From the Coastline, We Progress, national exhibition at Qatar Pavilion, World Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai
A compact peninsula with a sparse interior, Qatar has developed its industries and cultures along the coast for centuries. From the Coastline, We Progress reflects this history and the way it has been shaped to make promises for the years ahead. Spanning twelve key maritime locations, the exhibition for the Qatar Pavilion presents a comprehensive exploration of Qatar's relationship with its shores.
Approaching the pavilion's entrance, visitors experience a color gradient that references coming ashore, from the dark blue sea to shallow turquoise waters to sandy shores. The outdoor vitrines feature aerial photography documenting the ecosystems along Qatar's coast, particularly Al Zubarah in the northwest. Poems by Ahmed bin Hassan Al-Hassan Al-Muhannadi and Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani express the richness and beauty of Qatar's natural environment. Inside, clear tubes filled with sands of various hues represent the desert landscapes and guide visitors towards the main exhibition space.
A deep blue curtain surrounds the main exhibition space and represents the intricate layering of the sea. The visuals highlight the careful navigation needed to address the complex interactions between human and marine life, overlaying ecological systems, industrial infrastructure, and archeological sites. An introductory panel illustrates Qatar's historical trajectory and modern development. Two maps are displayed: one showing nineteenth-century Qatar with villages along the coastline, and the other a complex contemporary maritime chart that highlights human and non-human environments.
The exhibition features twelve niches carved from an aluminum-clad wedge shape, each showcasing a curved, backlit panorama of significant zones. These displays are detailed with intricate maps with colored beads that symbolize Qatar’s activities in culture, industry, ecology, hospitality, and heritage. The locations include Khor Al-Udaid, a proposed UNESCO World Heritage site; Mesaieed and Al Wakrah, an industrial zone and historic port; Old Doha Port and the Corniche, one of the key areas of development after Qatar’s independence; and Ras Laffan and Fuwairit, home to one of the largest liquefied natural gas ports in the world.
Central to the exhibition is a cinema space inspired by Qatar's traditional winter camps, featuring a film directed by AMO / Samir Bantal that chronicles the nation's modern history through new footage and valuable archives—from 1950s British Petroleum documentaries to Ron Fricke's captured daily life of the peninsula. The three-screen film juxtaposes natural landscapes, animal life, and urban identity with images of the people of Qatar. Upon exiting, visitors encounter a small display of traditional objects, loaned from the National Museum of Qatar, which were traditionally used by men on pearl-diving expeditions and by women back on land.